May 6, 2011 |
We’ve all heard a few good urban legends in our time. You know what I’m talking about; those stories you hear around the water cooler, the ones that get passed along from a friend of a friend (AFOF). Oh yes, the tellers of these tales believe them to be true, and the stories have been retold, regurgitated, and embellished so many times that it doesn’t even matter if a shred of it is the truth; they are the stuff of legend!
One of my favorite urban tales dating back to early childhood is the one about the little kid whose stomach exploded when he drank a Coke after eating Pop-Rocks candy. Another urban legend about a guy with a hookarm that terrorized a young couple parking late at night, still spooks me out today.
You name the subject, and there is likely a fantastical news story to go along with it. These mythical fables have even permeated the world of yoga and I thought I would share (and hopefully debunk) a few of my faves.
Pretzel Man. A 27-year-old man in Altoona, Pennsylvania was rushed to the hospital a few months ago when he could not pull his arms back out of turtle pose. It took nurses more than ten hours to pry his arms from under his thighs, permanently disfiguring his arms. This is the reason why I don’t attempt turtle pose (wink-wink).
Yoga is for girls. This, I think, is one of the most hilarious yoga urban legends. This story is repeated by men throughout North America who fervently believe yoga is too sissy for them. Ha! The truth is that many, many years ago in India, women weren’t even allowed to practice yoga; as it was reserved solely for men. I think it is an awesome karmic twist that the ladies are rockin’ the asanas now but really hope that this myth gets debunked, as I, for one, would love to see more men on the mat!
Yoga is a weird, religious cult. Well, I have to admit, when I first started practicing, I didn’t know what all this namaste, chakra, and third-eye stuff was about. I’m happy to report that after practicing yoga for several years, I have not shaved my head or sent all my belongings to a guru in India. I will say that the spiritual aspects of yoga can be like a religion but one that you control with your mind, body, and spirit.
You have to be a perfect, wholesome, vegan to practice yoga. Well, yes, there are the yamas and niyamas that guide the practice (santosha, contentment; asteya, non stealing; ahimsa, non harming; soucha, cleanliness; etc.), but that doesn’t mean we yogis don’t like to have some fun. If you don’t believe me, check out what my friend Lo has to say about the 10 ways she is un-yogic and doesn’t give a….
Yoga gets you high. This is not an urban legend. This is actually quite true!
People over 40 are just too inflexible to practice yoga. I’m not even going to address this, except to say, we don’t practice yoga because we are flexible; we practice yoga to become flexible.
I guess the beauty of urban legends is that you get to believe what is true and what is fiction. I suppose you all have been told some good yogic urban legends. The water cooler is open, and I’d love a few more fictional fairy tales, so please spread the word with a comment below.
Buddha Image: Jose Luis Navarro
May 3, 2011 |
As a yoga teacher, I’m always looking for new, creative resources for class themes, new asana flows, and inspiration. Thankfully, I have a wellspring of information at my fingertips through the World Wide Web. Yes, the Internet is more than just for porn (shout-out to one of my favorite Broadway musical songs from Avenue Q), and for me, cyberspace is a smorgasbord of yogalicious treats.
Perfect example: When I’m putting together a new class and need some assistance with teaching a new asana or breathing technique, one of my favorite go-to Web sites is Do Yoga With Me (DYWM). Here are just a few of the things I love about DYWM.
1) Three Words: free yoga classes! Say it with me…FREE online yoga classes. Do Yoga With Me has videos for yoga classes, explanations of poses, breathing techniques, and anatomy. The videos are all taught by experienced instructors, and new videos are added all the time.
2) Adult continuing education. Watching the videos on this site give me an instant refresher course on how to break down an asana for a beginner class. The majority of the videos are taught by David Procyshyn, who presents the content in a knowledgeable, unrushed, and calm reassuring voice.
3) Having trouble calming your monkey mind for meditation? Check out the guided audio meditations that will help turn off the chitta and get you relaxed.
4) Convenience. Before you watch a video, you can see what class level it is (e.g. beginner, intermediate, advanced), the length of the video, any equipment requirements, and a link to the teacher bio. I really like the “Play Preview” button that allows you to get a quick sneak-peek of the video content before jumping into a class. Another added convenience is that you can download most of the free videos to your IPod!
5) Content that speaks to me (and my aching neck and shoulders)! David has written about and created a video to help office workers relieve shoulder and neck pain. Although I don’t work in an office anymore, my biggest weakness is still shoulder and neck pain from sitting at my computer most of the day. If you only watch one video on DYWM, I highly recommend Office Yoga for the Neck and Shoulders. There is also a related blog post that provides several videos on specific routines that can be done to strengthen the shoulders, back, and neck.
6) Creating a community. The goal at DYWM is to build a community of people who love yoga and would like to share what they know with others who are equally excited about yoga. If you have a yoga video you want to share with the world or, better yet, sell to the world, contact Do Yoga With Me, and they may just feature your video on the site.
I will provide one warning before you visit DYWM: Make sure you set aside some time, because you will want to hang out for a while to check out all the awesome content.
Thanks, David, for putting together such a great online resource for yoga!
Do you have a favorite go-to yoga site? Please leave a comment with the details, and help promote the online yogi community.
Apr 19, 2011 |
Warning: Careful What You Wish For. It Might Just Come True!
If you have followed my blogs over the past year, you know that I’ve been through a little honking-ass amount of “Changes” in my life. I transitioned from a stressed-out vice president to a blissed-out yoga instructor (hey, that could be a good tag line: “From stressed out to blissed out!”). It has been quite a ride, as I’ve tried to figure out what my next move was and how to make it as fun and fulfilling as possible.
I’ve written a few times that my ultimate dream job would be to teach yoga on a beach. I got my first taste of beach yoga while on vacation in Virginia Beach last year and was immediately hooked. I’ve always loved the beach and I love yoga, so I figured if I could mashup the two and share that passion with others, it would be nirvana.
Less than a year away from my first post on this subject, I am happy to report that my dream of teaching yoga on the beach has come true! This summer I will be teaching yoga on the beautiful shores of Lake Erie at two locations (one in Huron, Ohio and one in Vermilion, Ohio), beginning June 6 and running through Labor Day. Click here for full details on the schedule and locations.
I want to give props to the Vermilion Boat Club and the Firefly Beach Resort in Huron for giving me the opportunity to teach on their beautiful grounds.
So, I guess the moral of the story is that when you put something out into the universe, work hard, and have faith, it really can manifest in your life.
I am so excited for this summer and can’t wait to share yoga and the incredible ambience of practicing it on a beach with others. I’ll have the best yoga-class playlist—the sounds of waves, seagulls, and the wind—the best props—sunshine and sand—and the best summer job I can imagine. Now, I just hope the students will show up!
Apr 14, 2011 |
For the past few months, I’ve been on the magical mystery tour of yoga. Not that I was sheltered or anything, but at the yoga studios I had been practicing at, we only were offered a few different flavors—vinyasa and hatha. Kind of like vanilla and chocolate—classics but I always want to know if there is something else out there like mint chocolate chip?
My foray into yoga-teacher training and the yoga community on Twitter (@downwarddog) has turned me on to many new forms of yoga, and now I’m like a kid at Baskin-Robbins; I want to try out all the flavors before I decide.
Not that I have to pick just one, but I would like to figure out my “major” or specialty of yoga, so to speak, and then pursue my 500-hour-level certification in it. I decided that I am going to take some time before I jump into the 500-hour and really do some extensive taste-testing to find the flavor that really turns me on. Here are a few yoga flavors I got to savor recently.
Kundalini. When someone tells me that a form of yoga used to be held secret, that you had to be worthy to practice it, and that it can give you an incredible high, you are going to pique my interest. I got a small taste of kundalini yoga as part of my YTT, and I knew I would need to have the full scoop. It used to be hard to find kundalini yoga in northeast Ohio but not anymore. Alecia Bernardo has formed a kundalini study group to meet, talk, and practice kundalini yoga. I went to the inaugural session, and we got our sat nams on well into the evening at Westside Yoga Studio. I also got to meet Colleen O’Rourke, who just recently returned to Cleveland and is a certified kundalini teacher, and am hoping to get to one of her classes soon (she is teaching locally at Acenda Yoga, Studio 11 in Tremont, The Studio Cleveland, and Agni Yoga Studio). There is so much to learn about this practice, and I definitely want to explore it more (and, yes, the breathing techniques and spiritual aspects of the practice will leave you feeling pretty damn good). If you would like more details about the study group, please contact me.
Chair yoga/Yoga therapy at Westlake Village Senior Center. I have to admit, yoga therapy is the front-runner right now for my 500-hour training. I never got into yoga teaching to do the power, flashy classes. Instead, I really wanted to help people who I know can benefit from yoga the way that I have. I attended a Saturday-afternoon yoga class taught to a group of women and men well over 70 years old. These students were rocking their chair and standing yoga poses, and the smiles were contagious. I got to practice Reiki at the end of the class on one of the students, and it was such a moving experience (even got me a little verklempt). Judi Bar, who led the class, told us how she has seen the students’ balance and movement improve over the past year she has taught the class, and the activity director affirmed what a positive impact the classes have had on the students’ well-being. It was a yogalicious experience for me!
Don't You Just Love Trying New Flavors of Gelato?
IAM-Meditation. Integrated Amrita Meditation Technique is a simple combination of yoga, pranayama, and meditation. You start with five minutes of yoga asanas to relax you, followed by a 15-minute self-guided meditation session that culminates in savasana. The whole practice takes only 20 minutes and is supposed to be done every day to reduce stress and bring peace of mind and mental clarity. IAM was created by world-renowned spiritual leader and humanitarian Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, affectionately known to millions as “Amma,” the hugging guru. Amma has taught meditation to millions of people throughout the world and I’ve heard gives a kick-ass hug. I always thought it would be kind of cool to have a guru, and if my guru was a woman, even better, so I’m going to be doing a little more research on her (just picked up the documentary about her, called Darshan: The Embrace). Since I attended the seminar a week ago, I have managed to do it every morning. I want to continue the practice for a full month before I pass out any endorsements, but I will tell you that I have felt mentally clearer and focused as I go through my day. Thanks to my friend Pam for turning me onto this free workshop held at Core Essentials Yoga & Pilates in Canton, Ohio.
So, what else is on my list?
–Bikram. I’ve just heard so much about this hot yoga, I have to try it. Watch out, Cathy, I’m coming to Chicago this summer, and you are going to accompany me to my first bikram class.
– Laughter yoga. I have been to two laughter yoga classes and I love it! What a great workout for the abdominals, and, really, the whole body benefits from all those endorphins released when you laugh. I definitely want to get certified to teach laughter yoga in the coming year.
–Ayurveda. This one is a bit overwhelming to me because there is so much to it, but I really want to learn more and start practicing an Ayurvedic diet.
So, what is your favorite flavor? Which flavors do you want to try?
I guess the good thing about yoga is that there are so many flavors. I’ll never get bored and there will always be something new to try (which makes me incredibly happy).
Apr 12, 2011 |
Have you ever spent a night trying to fall asleep but, instead, tossed and turned, lying awake, regurgitating the events of the day or, my specialty, stressing out about everything you need to do in the next 24-hours?
Being the major stress queen that I was (Okay, I’m still a bit of a stress queen, but yoga has really helped put it in check), I have spent more nights than I care to admit in a hellacious fit of exhaustion, unable to let go of the angst, the rampant monkey in my mind going wild, prohibiting me from getting a few precious hours of sorely needed rest.
Well, I am happy to report that I have some groundbreaking advice to share on how to relax and get a peaceful night of sleep. I wish I could take credit for this wisdom, but I have to give props to Professor Azaad S. Khaira (The Laugh Doc), a certified laughter yoga teacher who shared this sage advice at a recent laughter yoga class I attended.
If you have trouble falling asleep at night it is likely due to the fact that you just can’t shrug off the pressures of the day and all of the items on your to-do list for the following day. Before going to bed, Azaad suggested spending a few minutes focused on removing all the thoughts and stresses of the day from your mind. Next, spend a few more minutes bringing in positive thoughts and affirmations.
Azzad cautioned that this might not help with sleeplessness right away, but he challenged us to try it for a month and guaranteed we would sleep better. At first, I wasn’t sure about this method, but I have given it a try, and I’m here to tell you it works. I just spend a few minutes each night erasing the story of my day and then writing and reading a lovely story to myself about what I want the next day to bring. It’s the coolest and most relaxing bedtime story I can imagine.
If I can embellish on Azzad’s recommendation, I’d like to suggest some focused breath work along with this exercise. Get comfortable in your bed and sit upright as you start to take some deep inhalations and exhalations through the nose. Breathe in love, breathe out fear. Breathe in joy, breathe out stress. You can be as self -indulgent as you like with your affirmations; just try to mix in a little gratitude and send out a little peace and love to the world. Focus on your breath as you let go of the day, and then start to bring in positive affirmations or things you would like to manifest in your life. Just put it out there in the universe and you never know; it may just find its way back to you.
